The Alyona Show: Spy allegations threaten reset

Published time: 28 Jun, 2010 17:00 Edited time: 29 Jun, 2010 18:37

Eleven people have been charged in the US for allegedly serving as illegal agents with recruiting political sources and gathering information. Eight of the ten were arrested Sunday for allegedly carrying out long-term, deep cover assignments in the United States on behalf of Russia. They were all charged with conspiracy to act as an agent of a foreign government, which carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison if convicted. Nine of the defendants were charged with conspiracy to commit money laundering, which carries a maximum 20 years in prison if convicted. More details are still coming in, but you can’t help notice the timing. Just days after Russian President Dmitry Medvedev visited Washington, went out for burgers with Obama and showed that the reset was in full effect. Will this jeopardize the relationship? Alyona discusses this with Ray McGovern, a former CIA Analyst, and Brent Budowsky, a columnist at The Hill.

The G20 conference in Canada wrapped up yesterday. On Saturday, thousands of protestors took to the streets to let their voices be heard, but they were met with a heavy police presence. Peaceful protests turned violent with hundreds of arrests made. Alyona discusses with RT correspondent Lauren Lyster. Lyster says some of these protestors felt for any change to happen they had to take violent measures.

Then, the Supreme Court ruled that the Second Amendment’s guarantee of an individual right to bear arms applies to state and local gun control laws in a 5-4 decision. The ruling adds onto a 2008 ruling that guaranteed this right federally. The specific case was brought to the court due to Chicago laws which have banned all handguns for the past 30 years. But Justice Alito noted that the declaration that the Second Amendment is fully binding on states and cities. Alyona discusses with Ladd Everitt Director of Communications at the Coalition to Stop Gun Violence and J.P. Freire from the Washington Examiner, do guns keep Americans safer, or put them in harms way?

Finally, a British study by the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists says that a human fetus cannot feel pain before the age of 24 weeks. The new study says that nerve connections in the brain are not sufficiently formed to allow pain perception before then. After 24 weeks, the doctors in the study say there is increasing evidence that the fetus is in a state of "continuous sleep-like unconsciousness or sedation." Is abortion still wrong, if the fetus can't feel pain? Here to debate the right to an abortion is Monica Potts from the American Prospect and Dr. Janice Crouse, a director at Concerned Women for America.